The Sound of My Tears
by Kit the Pokemaniac
Summary: It's been a year and a half - that's a long time. But the pain of Brock's death is still fresh for everyone he left behind. Ash revisits Brock's grave and the memories all come rushing back to him. ((No pairings. Character death, obviously. T for safety, and, well, I guess character death makes it worthy of a T rating? XD))


**Hi everyone! **

**I know, I know, I shouldn't be writing one-shots when two of my other fics are in desperate need of updating, but I updated TACDIF, at least! So that's one out of three! **

**Well, I've been told that I'm good at writing tragedy and grief and stuff, and I enjoy it too, so I decided to throw up another tragically sad fic. It's my specialty. X3 **

**Well, on with the story, I guess! **

**... **

_"Brock! No!" _

_"Oh, Mew - Brock!" _

Ash stared blankly at the small arch, carved of granite, that stood before him. It was about three feet tall, and a dull grayish white color. He reached out and ran his hand over the smooth surface.

_"Call 911. Someone call 911." _

Words were carved into the rock in smooth, elegant cursive writing. Ash's face remained blank as his fingers traced each letter, one by one. He would not read the words. He refused to address their meaning. He pushed down the memories, and the impact that these words had on his life. It was just too painful.

_"The ambulance should be here soon." _

_"There's so much blood... oh, Arceus, no..." _

His hands shook as he reached out to place the wildflowers on the headstone. Brock's little brothers and sisters had collected them and given them to Ash to take, just like they did every week.

Ash's throat tightened. He couldn't hold back the tears much longer. He swallowed slowly and lowered his eyes to read the words.

As he did, his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground beside the headstone.

Too much. Too much pain. Why did he bring himself here? Why?!

_"Brock, just hang on! We're almost there!" _

_"Just a little more, Brock!" _

Ash's breathing grew ragged. The tears came slowly at first, then faster. He wasn't one to cry. But now, he couldn't stop himself - couldn't hold back. He broke into sobs, and the sound of his tears rang out through the otherwise silent cemetery.

_"Please let him be okay. Please, Arceus..." _

_"He'll be fine. The doctors know what they're doing..." _

Pikachu was crying too. His cheeks were wet and dripping with tears, as he clung to Ash's shoulder.

Ash didn't hold back. He let it all out - every feeling of grief and anger he had experienced for the past year and a half. Everything he had held inside, he let out now in the form of tears.

_"Doc, we're losing him!" _

_"He's barely hanging on..." _

_"There's got to be something we can - " _

_"No. We can't. It's too late." _

_"B-but what about all his friends?" _

_"Someone has to tell them." _

Finally, the tears began to subside. Ash slowly rose to his feet. He looked for a moment more at the headstone, but quickly forced himself to look away.

His hair was a mess. His face was red and puffy from crying. Ash slowly turned and began to walk away, putting more and more distance between himself and one of his best friends.

_"Oh my Arceus. May, look, the heart monitor's gone dead. It - it just stopped." _

_"No... no, this can't be happening... no..." _

As he trudged away from the grave, Ash paused for a moment, stopping midstep.

He turned to look back.

There were the wildflowers he had placed on the headstone, a bit of brightness in the dreary atmosphere. Still, even the flowers could not bring him to smile.

The pain was fresh, as were the memories, in his mind. It wasn't like he could forget, after all.

_"No! There had to be something you can do! He - he can't be gone! NO!" _

_"B-brock...? P-please, no, p-please..." _

Ash walked out of he cemetery and shut the gate behind him. He felt utterly hollow as he slowly walked down the street. A car sped by and skidded through a puddle, spraying dirty water everywhere and dousing him. Ash didn't care, though.

_"I'm sorry. Your friend has... has passed away." _

_"No, I don't... I just don't... this can't be..." _

"Pikapi..." Pikachu whispered, reaching out to touch his Trainer's cheek in a feeble attempt to comfort him.

"I-I'm fine, Pikachu..." Ash mumbled.

He wasn't, though.

He wasn't okay at all.

_They were all crying now. Misty, May, Max, Dawn, and especially Ash. His fists were balled, knuckles white, teeth gritted, and face pale as, one by one, the tears slid down his cheeks. _

_"B-brock..." he whispered to himself. "B-brock, wh-why'd you have to... t-take that bullet for me l-like that..." _

_As the small group sat in the waiting room of the hospital, all together, trying to comprehend the news they'd just received, Ash screamed out loud. _

_And the sound of their tears echoed in the background. _

Now, Ash found himself crying again.

"B-brock..." he whispered to himself. "Wh-why'd you have to g-go and... and take th-that bullet for me l-like that?"

The sound of tears echoed in his mind and surrounded him. The sound of tears had been in the background of his life for the past year and a half now.

The sound of Brock's siblings' tears when they realized that their older brother wasn't ever coming home again,

The sound of Brock's parents' tears when they found out about the loss of their precious eldest son,

The sound of Misty's tears when she turned away from him and tried to hide it,

The sound of May's tears when she didn't try to hide it because she knew she couldn't,

The sound of Max's tears as he huddled alone in his room,

The sound of Dawn's tears as she tried to tell Piplup that everything would be all right when it wouldn't be,

The sound of Pikachu's tears when he heard the tears of his Trainer late at night as they lay in bed together,

And the sound of Ash's own tears, now, as he held Pikachu close to his chest while they walked down the street, both knowing that nothing was ever going to be the same again.

...

**Heart-wrenching? I hope so. This is, quite honestly, my favorite genre - grief and sadness and hurt. I know, I'm weird, but I hope you liked it anyway! And if you've read any of my other stories, then you know that I LOOOOVVVVVE reviews! **


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